The Unique Benefits of Group Psychotherapy

(Based on Irvin Yalom’s “The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy”)

Common Misconceptions About Group Therapy

Clients, in my experience, often see group psychotherapy as inherently inferior to one-on-one work. This perception may stem from the sense that group therapy offers a more diluted form of access to the therapist, whose attention is divided among several people.

Challenging the Stigma: Yalom’s Perspective

In The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy, Irvin Yalom challenges this view. While group therapy may feel less appealing at first, there are strong reasons to believe it can be just as effective — and in some cases more so.

The Group as a Social Microcosm

One of the key advantages Yalom highlights is that the group acts as a kind of social microcosm. In individual therapy, the therapist relies on the client’s own account, and clients themselves may be unaware of behaviours that shape how others respond to them.
In group therapy, by contrast, relational patterns emerge in real time, within the session. Both therapist and group members can observe these patterns directly, rather than piecing them together from incomplete or biased narratives.

Case Example: Allen’s Journey

Yalom offers the example of Allen, a thirty-year-old unmarried scientist who claimed to lack sexual passion. Through a series of tone-deaf remarks, he revealed a marked insensitivity to the suffering of other members.
As a result, the group shifted the central question from:

“Why do I lack passion?”
to
“Why do I lack feeling?”

—a reframe that would have been harder to reach in individual therapy.

The Growing Value of Peer Feedback

Interestingly, Yalom also notes that while the therapist may be seen as the central figure at the outset, clients often end up valuing feedback from fellow group members more highly by the end.
Peers can share parallel experiences and insights that carry a different weight from the therapist’s input, which can be shaped — and sometimes constrained — by their professional role.